Coming Home to our Bodies: A Gentle Introduction to Somatic Trauma Therapy

In a world that often asks us to push through, numb out, or “rise above,” many of us have learned—consciously or not—to leave our bodies behind. We’re praised for productivity, for keeping it together, for staying busy. But rarely are we encouraged to pause, to soften, or to feel.

This disconnection from our bodies isn’t a personal failure. It’s often a deeply rooted survival response. For those who have experienced trauma—especially in bodies that are BIPOC, queer, trans, disabled, chronically ill, or marginalized in any way—being in the body hasn't always felt safe. Sometimes, leaving the body is what kept us alive.

What Is Somatic Trauma Therapy?

The word somatic comes from the Latin word soma, meaning “the living body.” Somatic trauma therapy invites us into a relationship with the body—not as a machine to be fixed or a problem to be solved—but as a wise, living part of our healing journey.

This approach understands trauma not just as something that happened in the past, but as something that lives on in our nervous system, in our muscles, in our breath—or our holding of breath. Through gentle awareness, breathwork, movement, stillness, and attunement, somatic therapy helps us slowly begin to feel safe in our bodies again.

But this work is not new. Long before the term “somatics” was coined in modern psychology, Indigenous, African, and Eastern healing traditions were practicing body-based, land-rooted, and community-centered healing. It’s important to honor and uplift these lineages, especially as somatic therapies are increasingly embraced in Western clinical spaces. This work is ancestral. It is sacred.

Dissociation: When Disconnection Protects Us

Many of us arrive at somatic work through the experience of dissociation. Dissociation is the feeling of being “checked out,” detached, numb, or disconnected from one’s body, thoughts, or surroundings. It is a brilliant survival strategy—a way our systems protect us from overwhelm, pain, or danger when there is no other option.

But over time, what once protected us may begin to isolate us. We may feel disconnected from pleasure, presence, or a sense of aliveness. Somatic trauma therapy offers a path toward gentle reconnection—not by forcing, but by listening.

Chronic Illness and the Body as a Complex Home

For those living with chronic illness, the invitation to “connect with the body” can feel layered, even painful. How do we connect with a body that feels like a source of suffering? How do we feel at home in a body that is constantly changing, or that others have pathologized or dismissed?

Somatic therapy doesn’t ask us to love or fix our bodies—it invites us to be with them. Sometimes that looks like deep presence; sometimes that looks like honoring limits, or naming grief, or cultivating compassion. There is no one right way to be in your body. Your body is not a battleground—it is a witness, a survivor, a storyteller.

An Invitation to Begin

If you are curious about somatic trauma therapy, I invite you to approach it not as a technique, but as a relationship—a relationship with your body, your past, and your capacity to feel safety and connection again.

This work can be tender. It can also be empowering. You are allowed to move slowly. You are allowed to have mixed feelings. You are allowed to begin again, and again, and again.

Your body is not the enemy. It is a sacred part of your healing.